John Drdek, an associate in Sheppard Mullin's business trial practice group practicing out of the firm's Del Mar, California, office, was packing May 8 for a flight to Hawaii—a strange trip to be taking during the middle of a pandemic.

It wasn't a vacation, though. The fourth-year associate was preparing for a two-month stay at COMPACFLT, also known as the headquarters of the United States' Navy Pacific Fleet.

Drdek, who has been a public affairs officer in the Navy reserve for more than a decade, was deployed May 9 to help the Navy with its communications efforts related to COVID-19.

While far from unheard of, Big Law attorneys in the armed forces are somewhat of a rarity. Drdek's story is even more unusual in that practicing law wasn't his first career, nor was being in the Navy Reserve. That distinction belongs to Drdek's former role as a producer and screenwriter in Hollywood.

The American Lawyer caught up with Drdek prior to his deployment last weekend to learn how a former writer for Nickelodeon and producer for Starz ended up at an Am Law 100 firm.

Drdek's answers have been lightly edited for length. 

Can you explain how you managed to go from Hollywood to the Navy and finally to Big Law? It's a rather unique path. 

It has been quite the circuitous journey. I went to the University of Southern California's film school and wanted to work as a writer and director in Hollywood. At the same time, I received an ROTC scholarship from the Navy. I'm from San Diego and wanted to serve. But my senior year of high school, I blew out my ACL pole vaulting. I couldn't meet the physical demands of the Navy and lost my scholarship. I was still able to go to USC, but the Navy didn't appear to be part of my future.

I got a manager shortly after I graduated and worked at a number of studios as a writer. I had some success writing children's stories and animation. I worked on the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoon, for one.

Then I found out about the Navy's direct officer training program. The Navy was looking for accomplished professionals in various fields like medicine, oceanography and public affairs. Half of the work I did in Hollywood was PR, [so] I started taking more work on the PR side of things and got selected as a direct commission public affairs officer.

At the same time, I was growing a little tired of my career in Hollywood. I asked myself if this was the career I wanted for the rest of my life. It didn't have the security I wanted and I wasn't being intellectually stimulated. My manager and lawyer seemed to be doing all the fun stuff. I could only write glorified 22-minute commercials for plastic toys for so long.

I was deployed to Afghanistan in the early 2010s and while I was in Bagram, I started studying for the LSAT in my downtime. Taking the LSATs right after a Taliban rocket attack was interesting.

I got into Stanford Law and was later recruited by the managing partner of Sheppard Mullin's Del Mar office, who was very supportive of my reserve work.

Are there any similarities between the work you did in Hollywood and the legal work you do? 

I've found it quite similar. In both screenwriting and corporate litigation, there is an emphasis on successfully crafting a narrative. In Hollywood, I was trying to get a segment of the population to buy toys. You need heroes, villains and an interesting narrative point. It's similar in litigation, where you are asking for something. Asking for relief or a bearable ruling on a motion, and you need to craft a successful, interesting and compelling narrative to do that. A lot of times you frame certain players as heroes or villains.

What sort of work will you be doing on your deployment?

I'll be in Makalapa, Hawaii, which is the headquarters for the Pacific Fleet. Yes, there are worse places to be stationed. Our job in public affairs is to inform the public of what the Navy is doing. In the time of COVID-19, we want to inform and ensure the public that the Navy is operational, tell them how we are dealing with treatment and responses in terms of preparations and ensure people know the Navy is willing and able to fight if needed.

Any thoughts about going back to Hollywood at some point? 

That chapter of my life is over. I really enjoy being an attorney, and between doing that and my responsibilities to the Navy, there won't be a lot of free time. It does allow me to enjoy TV more, though.

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